Trapped Starlight
by i luv niki4444
Summary: Driven by her desires, Kikyo sends both Kagome and Sesshomaru to Middle Earth. Once there, they have to make a decision. Will they help in the quest to save the world, or will they sit back and watch it all play out. If only Kagome could justify doing the later.
1. Potions

**_Trapping Starlight_**

_Prologue: Potions_

* * *

It was a quiet night in Feudal Japan.

As silent as fog running over a mountain, it poured into the veins of a fearful target.

"Inuyasha?"

The target whispered, afraid that –quiet as it was- something would jump out and attack it.

There was no answer and the person sat up inside its sleeping bag, panic increasing. "Inuyasha?" Slightly breathless, the figure's eyes darted around to the trees above.

They searched for the familiar red of his Robe of the Fire Rat among the leaves and branches only to notice with a start that he wasn't there.

A feeling of dread washed over it and it rose on shaking legs. Long hair and a petite frame gave the impression of a woman.

"Miko," A voice the opposite of the one she'd been hoping to calm her replied, "You are alone." The deep voice spoke as though commenting on the weather, but an underlying confusion was hidden within.

The one known as 'Miko' swallowed harshly, her eyes whipping around as if to find an escape route. "Where is Rin, Sesshomaru?" She answered quickly yet quietly, hoping not to offend him with the question but curious nonetheless. Despite her time here, she still did not know very much about Inuyasha's older brother.

Sesshomaru's watch was thoughtful as it lay upon her form, his thoughts running along the same track as hers. He had no desire to fight the miko, although he did despise her choice of traveling companion –more specifically that half-brother of his- he had no reason to dislike her. Moreover, she had saved Rin's life twice.

"Rin is resting." He observed as something akin to relief flashed across the woman's face and he found himself just a little pleased.

She cast him a small, uncomfortable smile before clearing her throat and her eyebrows pulled down with worry. "Why are you here My Lord?"

Sesshomaru was weary around the woman and thought about simply replying that it wasn't any of her business –because it wasn't- but chose to instead humor her. "Hn."

* * *

A certain clay woman frowned deeply as she observed the interactions between the only two being that stood between her and certain victory.

Kagome Higurashi, a young, inexperienced woman who barely had the right to call herself a miko. Her archery was mediocre at best and her powers, though strong, were untrained and barely of any use.

Lord Sesshomaru, a VERY experienced daiyokai of over 500 years whom hated humans and detested half demons. He was skillful –perhaps even unparalleled- in many arts and had full control of his power.

Her reason for wanting these two out of the picture was simple; she had to ensure that Inuyasha would go to hell with her. Lord Sesshomaru had forewarned that the next time they crossed paths he would destroy her clay body. If the body was broken before Inuyasha agreed to go with her there was no way she could take him with her. And Kagome could be the only person to convince Inuyasha to stay and live.

So with this pain filled goal in mind, she had plotted their downfall and finally, the time had come.

No better time there was as this one, with no one around –Inuyasha being distracted by her scent in the area and the demon slayer and monk at her old village - and the two just standing there, staring at each other.

It was almost as if this was fated to happen.

Her lips pulled into a cruel smile and she began to quietly chant the spell she'd talked an old miko to create for her.

_"With a sprinkle of dust_

_Take them away_

_Turn back the clock_

_Or_

_Freeze in parallel_

_Forever unable_

_To get to the ones they love."_ When the words had been said, she began chanting quietly in a language she didn't understand, words she hadn't been told the meaning of.

But she knew she could trust the miko.

Taking out a small pouch, Kikyo shook the contents – a reddish powder- into her hand and paused in her chanting to blow on it gently.

As if there was a GPS implanted in the small grains they shot toward Kagome and Sesshomaru, who were carrying out a rather awkward conversation, consisting of mostly 'Hn' from one side.

Kagome cleared her throat uncomfortably, honestly not entirely sure why Sesshomaru hadn't left yet. "Um… So… thanks for saving my life when we were fighting Naraku." Out of other conversation topics, she figured she might as well.

Sesshomaru's answer was a quick nod in her direction as he seemed to become disturbed. It was just a faint wrinkle of his brow as his eyes shot to the side. "Hn." He sniffed delicately, frowning as he saw just a faint trace of something moving through the air.

Kagome, meanwhile, was disturbed, looking around for what had made him so on guard. Only a few moments ago he had seemed… almost amused by their 'conversation'.

"Miko we are not alone."

His voice penetrated the quiet that Kagome had before found so eerie. Perhaps she had been right to not just think nothing of it. Her thoughts were slightly dimmed when she smelled something delighting sweet. _'Is that some kind of perfume?' _

But with each passing moment, Kagome found herself ceasing to care at all. Whatever it was… it was beautiful.

Dark spots appeared in her vision, but Kagome paid that no mind as her eyes darted around to find the source of the odor. It was almost midnight and she couldn't tell much of a difference anyway.

A certain daiyokai, however, could. Even in the dark, his eyesight had always been impeccable, but now it faded and his ears began to ring, much to his annoyance. The toxic scent was eating away at his senses thanks to his extremely sensitive nose.

"Who's there?" Her voice whispered, almost instinctively her hand reached for her bow. Her took a step back, flinching when a ringing pain suddenly entered her ear and her eyesight cut off entirely.

Unfortunately, Sesshomaru wasn't doing much better than she. His vision was completely gone and his body felt weak; the pain in his ears making him fight off a choked scream.

From behind him, Kagome's body fell to the ground and began glowing the same color red as Kikyo's powder.

The same light appeared around his body, as he too gave in to the powerful magic.

* * *

'_Will she be alright?'_

'_Aye, she'll be just fine.' _

Two voices were speaking back and forth as Kagome came dizzily back to the world and fought to open her groggy eyes. A few minutes of hearing the two converse back and forth with no luck caused her to give up with a sigh.

'_Kagome? Kagome are you awake?'_

That voice belonged to the woman who seemed so concerned for her, Kagome registered. Since she'd come to, the banter that had taken place had mostly consisted of her worried comments.

Kagome again tried to open her eyes when she felt a light sensation against her arm, as if the wind had briefly blown against her. "Heidfsnfsdmfd." She mumbled out, her lips not moving as she wanted either.

'_Do not worry so Midoriko, she will fully awaken soon. The spell holds strongly to this one.' _

'_But Sesshomaru woke hours ago.' _

Kagome's eyes had finally opened now, her surprise that Sesshomaru had been asleep –something she hadn't considered he might need- giving her muscles more power. She swallowed thickly, clearing her throat, "What happened?" She asked the question she previously hadn't been able to and looked between the two whom stood by her side in a void of white.

The people who stood before her surprised her more than Sesshomaru's apparent sleeping habits and she choked on her own breath as she made contact with a man she could only describe as completely alien. He didn't exactly have a build, looking more like a combination of bright lights that had taken the shape of a man.

And yet, even seeing this she could swear she saw a twinkle in his eyes and a gentle smile sent her way.

"So you are here with us at last young one." His voice, now more clear than ever, was loud as the ring of a church bell, yet quiet as the footsteps of a ninja. Her mind was somewhat unable to understand what was happening as she took him in.

"You should have been awake sooner."

Kagome's eyes shifted to the woman and she couldn't hide her gasp. Before her sat Midoriko, the creator of the jewel, the reason for all her problems… and Kagome's idol. She quickly stood despite the protests her body gave.

"Lady Midoriko!"

The miko seemed baffled by her enthusiasm, but only for a moment. A large smile broke out of her face as she replied back, "It has been many moons since we last saw each other Kagome." Her eyes turns sly and her face grew stern as she raised an eyebrow, "But I trust your memory has not failed you completely?"

Kagome let out an embarrassed cough as the man seemed to chuckle at the woman's playful hint. "H-Hai! Just Midoriko."

A nod of approval was her greatest sign of acknowledgment and out of nowhere, Sesshomaru appeared.

Or perhaps it was them that had intruded on him.

Sitting as though he had been there the whole time, Sesshomaru was the picture of peace as he lay against a tree. They stood in a meadow that was much more serene than the white void they'd lingered in before.

Golden eyes opened to lock onto her almost threateningly and Kagome stared right back as if he wasn't capable of knocking her head off.

Where had the friendliness from earlier gone?

"Hn." He stood from the tree and began making his way toward them, reaching them in less time than was humanly possible. "Now that the miko is among us, speak."

Kagome mentally huffed, _'Someone's grumpy.' _Another voice inside her head told her that he'd probably been waiting a while and was out of patience.

"Eru?" Midoriko questioned lightly, turning to him, clearing expecting the task to fall to him.

As if disturbed by this, 'Eru' pointed to himself questioningly, "Me? I thought you were going to…"

Kagome's lips twitched with faint humor, _'This is a facepalm moment if there ever was one…' _

Midoriko rubbed her temples, mumbling about not having time to prepare a speech. Collecting herself, Midoriko looked back up and cleared her throat, "You are here for a purpose." She started carefully.

Her arms crossed unintentionally as she began to pace back and forth, "The jewel is complete, Naraku was defeated." She seemed to struggle with what to say while they waited patiently, "And yet your power is needed in another world."

Eru interjected when she spoke these words, "In my world, there is a great evil. It cannot be destroyed by a simple sword or arrow." He added, "A ring must be taken to the place it was forged. That is the only place it can be destroyed."

Kagome's eyes scrunched with thought, "A ring?" Once upon a time this wouldn't bother her much, but she'd learned some on her adventures. With the way both Eru and Midoriko were acting, combined with the horror show that was her hunt for the Shikon Shards, she was certain there was more to this than just some random ring. "What is so special about it?"

"_Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,_

_Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,_

_Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,_

_One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne_

_In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie._

_One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,_

_One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them_

_In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie._" Eru's voice was soft with the words and he seemed almost sad. "The source of evil in our lands, a man of great darkness, Sauron, created the One Ring for the purpose of controlling the thoughts and actions of those that wore the other rings."

Midoriko cleared her throat, "Sauron connected his soul to the ring when it was created. He cannot be defeated until it is destroyed." Her voice lowered, "But the only way to destroy it is to throw it into the pits of Mount Doom. We need you and Sesshomaru to help guide the Ring-Bearer there."

Eru's gaze was steady upon them, "Without you, my world will be destroyed."

Kagome bit her lip, her eyes peeking to see Sesshomaru's reaction.

Of course if she hadn't turned she'd had seen the same reaction.

"Hn." Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed, "You took me from my ward to tell me this?"

"It wasn't us that took you." Midoriko said, shaking her head gravely. "A miko by the name of Kikyo asked that a spell be created to get rid of the two of you. The woman she asked was too pure to doom you to the void that Kikyo requested you be put in. Even under the threat of her life she was brave enough to create a chant in Elvish that would ensure that you be brought to another plane safely."

Her eyes were pitying as she continued, "Regardless of whether or not you choose to accept the quest offered to you, you will go to Middle Earth. You will never be able to return to your home."

"The spell had nothing to do with you." Kagome's voice rose lightly with emotion as images of her loved ones flashed through her mind's eye. More specifically a fox kit who would be left parentless. "But you've managed to interfere and give us this chance. Why can't you just bring us back home instead?!"

Eru laid a hand on her shoulder kindly, "We have limited time to discuss this with you. In fact there is little left of what we had. It was a miracle we were able to intercept you before you got to my world." He sighed lightly, "The spell is too powerful for us to bring you back to your home." He added.

"You can think over what you want to do on your own time." Midoriko said softly, "Right now, we have to prepare you for what is to come." With a nod in Eru's direction she turned and disappeared in a flurry of smoke.

While this happened, Eru began the only part of this conversation he was thus far prepared for. "As you know, the place you will soon be goes by the name of Middle Earth." His hands were placed behind his back to make himself more comfortable, "Within this world there are many species. Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Man; Demons are ancient and powerful and full of evil, unlike most of the demons within your own world." His eyes sought out Sesshomaru pointedly.

Kagome was almost too caught up in the 'elf' and 'dwarf' part to notice, _'This world sounds… so different from Earth.' _

"There is not a single language on Earth anything close to the languages on Middle Earth." Catching the panicked look in Kagome's eyes he gave her another kind smile, "Do not worry child. When you leave here you will be able to speak what is known as 'Common Tongue' as simply as you do Japanese. As its name implies, most inhabitants will know it."

Kagome nodded uneasily, casting worried eyes on the form of the unaffected daiyokai. Even though he didn't appear to notice her unease, for the first time she was comforted by his stoic presence.

A slight frost in his eyes caused her to believe that perhaps he wasn't as emotionless as she'd once thought.

"I have a gift for you young one." Eru continued and Kagome focused on him once more. He took a step toward her and placed his hands on both sides of her head, "You will be changed into an elf so you can better prepare yourself on this journey." As he spoke a tingling feeling seeped into her bones and her body began to feel lighter.

"And my gift," Kagome's eyes shifted to Midoriko, whom had just reappeared with a familiar longbow in her hands. "You dropped this on the way here." Her voice chimed with amusement when she pulled her other hand from behind her back.

"Kirara!" Kagome's eyes widened as she caught sight of the little two tailed kitten purring within Midoriko's arm.

"I went back to speak with your friends on Earth." Midoriko's face was smiling while she passed both the demon and the bow. "Sango wished for you to have her."

Kagome hugged Kirara to her chest and played with her ears, earning a happy mew from her friend.

"And for you, Lord Sesshomaru…" Midoriko's smile became gentle and she looked behind her with a small wink.

A rustling of clothing was hint enough to the 'gift' located behind Midoriko, but the little girl who zoomed out from behind to hug Sesshomaru's legs made it much more clear. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Her eyes sparkled merrily and Kagome noticed with a start that her ears were pointed now.

"Rin." His voice sounded somewhat odd, as if he wasn't sure whether to be happy or displeased.

Despite herself, Kagome found herself smiling at the picture they made. She tried not to think of her baby being alone and instead be happy for Sesshomaru.

A small voice cleared and Kagome turned around to see said son smiling up at her widely.

Her eyes connected with him and her heart stopped beating momentarily.

"Shippo!"

"Mama!"

If asked what happened after that, neither Midoriko nor Eru could have told whether it was son who glomped mother, or mother who glomped son.

Perhaps it was a mixture of the two.

* * *

**_i luv niki4444_**

Sometimes, I hate my mind. o_O Whenever I get a good idea, no matter how much I try to fight it, I cannot help but write and write and write and if I try to write anything else it becomes an impossible puzzle and I erase it to go to my recycling bin. D:

So here is the source of my writers block! A Kagome/Legolas fanfiction, fresh out of the oven! I hope you like it and I'll talk to you guys soon! :P Well... when I say talk I mean update. x"D This one is actually going to get an update. *Shocked*


	2. Middle Earth

**_Trapped Starlight_**

_Chapter 1: Middle Earth_

* * *

_Third Age 2137_

It was with a start that Kagome finally woke; her eyes flashing to and fro as she lay in a shaking heap.

She blinked in a slow, drowsy fashion and her mind tried to comprehend the situation. Within moments the memories flooded in and she inwardly groaned.

_'None of that could possibly have happened.' _She tried to convince herself that there was no logical way, even as she took in the dead woods around her. It was so different from the vibrant green trees of the feudal era and the very feeling of the earth caused her to shiver lightly.

Almost as if sensing her discomfort, her son wiggled in her arms and despite his unconscious state, his hand reached up to touch her face comfortingly.

A quiet chuckle was the first thing that alerted her to the presence of another; the hand that grabbed her shoulder shortly after was an added clue. "You must be Kagome."

Kagome turned cautiously -in spite of his gentle voice- and was amazed. He was an old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which a white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.

… And he sat beside her like it was the place he had taken his whole life.

Kagome's flabbergasted expression amused him deeply while she stuttered, clearly having been expecting someone… anyone else. "W-What?"

"Gandalf the Grey, milady." He acted as though he wasn't moments from laughing for the sake of politeness, taking her hand lightly in his own and releasing her shoulder. "The Lady Midoriko has asked that I help you." A puzzled look settled into the amusement, "Though she did not desire me to know what with."

"And it would do you well not to place your head where it does not belong, Wizard." The smooth baritone of Sesshomaru's voice sounded from behind her.

She was confused as she turned to face him. _'Where was he when I woke up?' _He stood regally beside a tree, Rin at his side.

Gandalf chuckled and took a place beside her, reaching to help her to her feet. "No, I suppose I shouldn't." His voice was once more filled with mirth as he added, "I do not fancy having it leave the rest of my body."

"Lady Kagome!" Rin chirped, leaving Sesshomaru to wrap her arms around Kagome's legs in a fierce hug.

Kagome smiled down gently, reaching down with her free hand to ruffle her hair. "Rin, how are you feeling?"

Rin's face glowed, "Wonderful! I've never felt so wonderful!" Taking a step away from her friend and longtime mentor she did a graceful twirl.

With twinkling eyes, Kagome mirrored the movement, "Indeed! I feel as though my body is made of feathers." It was as though she had once weighed two tons and it had simply vanished overnight, leaving her movements graceful and light.

Shippo once again stirred in her arms, this time his green eyes opening to take in her face. A smile graced his own before his little hands wrapped around her neck happily.

Sesshomaru and Kagome shared a look –some part of Kagome's mind scoffing at how quickly she found herself trusting him- and understanding flashed across the eyes of both starers.

"Gandalf," She bowed to him lightly, allowing her son to sneak from her arms and say his hellos to Rin. "I would very much like for you to train me… in the ways of magic." Whether she chose to partake in the quest ahead or not, she wouldn't have the choice if she couldn't hold her own. She had to become stronger.

Gandalf's answering statement made her resolve strengthen. "A wise choice."

* * *

_Third Age 2359_

After that day, she and Gandalf had went off on their own. Shippo had left with Sesshomaru and Rin, presumably to find a place to call home.

For years she trained with Gandalf, roaming from place to place and making a name for herself. And wherever they went, rumors were quick to trail behind.

The Healer, they called her, for everywhere she went people became healthy. It was said that a moment in her presence could extend a human's life by ten years. Tales of her power and beauty poured throughout the lands to such an extent that she ranted and raved about her worst qualities –particularly harsh about her apparent _beauty_- for hours on end in an attempt to get Gandalf to see her side of things.

It was also upon hearing these arguments that Gandalf began his habit of hitting her in the back of the head and chirping, "Go to the river and stare into your reflection until you find something you like about yourself –Whether it be physical or mental. Today's a day of self-actualization!"

The first time it had happened –a mere 138 years into her life in Middle Earth- she had realized that not once in her long life as an elf had she seen her reflection. The thought and dread of doing so turned her into a stuttering mess and Gandalf had had to chase after her as she screamed "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

Of course, being Gandalf, he had eventually got her scared enough to look in the river instead of risking his wrath.

And so, she had hesitantly looked into the water and finally taken in all the changes which had been made. The elven girl had taken in flawless ivory skin, blue-black hair tumbling to her waist in gentle waves, the rich dark blue of her eyes.

Gandalf had found her reaction amusing –especially when she had begun to feel around on her cheeks muttering about having a different bone structure- and asked if she still believed there wasn't a single good thing about her appearance.

She had blushed and retorted, "I suppose I look better than most 156 year olds do."

To which he'd responded, "You'll look the same when you're 3,000 my dear!"

It was three times that she went to Gandalf, desperately trying to get him to quell the rumors before she finally gave up.

From then on she'd taken to spreading rumors of her own around about 'The Healer' from under a dark hood.

To say Gandalf found this funny was an understatement, upon finding out, he'd fallen against a tree and laughed heartily for hours until his throat was too raw and his tears too painful to continue.

It was two hundred and twenty-two years after she'd been taken to middle earth that Sesshomaru had come upon them and requested that she learn swordsmanship from him.

Kagome would have been a fool to say no.

* * *

_Third Age 2770_

Kagome leaned back further against the tree, finding pleasure in the moment of peace. It was not often that she was allowed this and she knew soon they would begin another session.

She secretly wondered if Sesshomaru took her into the outside dojo so often because he liked to torture her. _'Sesshomaru does get his kicks from watching me suffer…_'

Something plopped into her lap, causing her eyes to snap open and a hiss of surprise to escape her; blushing lightly when she noticed that it was just a messenger bird that had dropped its package.

'_When was the last time I was truly at ease?' _She pondered idly, reaching for the three scrolls on her lap. _'Sesshomaru… Kagome… Thranduil?' _

She wondered about the name for a moment, remembering it from somewhere. Shrugging it off, she opened the scroll with her name on it, frowning as her eyes scanned over the words.

Her body froze up and her brow creased as she read it again, carefully. "...Sesshomaru."

The demon rose his head from the tree he was resting against. "Hn?"

Their eyes locked and her lips pressed into a thin line, "We travel to the human city, Dale."

A short nod was the answer she was given before he was there, in front of her, with the scroll clenched between clawed hands and his eyes scanning over the parchment. "We must be quick."

"The orb?" A hint of excitement could be heard entering her voice, despite the tough time that was upon them.

She ran to the medical station of the dojo and grabbed the largest pack she could find, squeaking when a hand wrapped around her waist just as she placed it on her back.

"Hn." He pulled her close and Kagome grabbed his shirt, "Hold on."

* * *

Kagome pushed a large tree branch out of the way, stretching it forward and aiming it toward Sesshomaru –who was walking behind her- in an attempt at revenge. "Why can't we just travel by orb?" A pout was in her voice once again as she struggled to stay on the damnable path. She let go of the branch when she was out of range and ran forward so the demon wouldn't get any ideas.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, catching the branch easily and appeared at her side where they continued on the path, "The Elven King who rules over Mirkwood would become alarmed and attempt to strike us down." He answered patiently, despite that it was the tenth time he'd delivered this speech. "Travelling through this wood will not take long and it is better for us to go unnoticed by the elves." Sesshomaru was not the biggest fan of those creatures.

They always attacked him in blind rage.

Demons were an unwelcome addition to this world and the elves could sense his darkness and power- although none had yet to identify exactly what he was. So they lashed out.

This wouldn't present a problem had it not been for their light footfalls and aura's that blended with trees. He found it extremely difficult to track the movements of elves; therefore, no other species could irk him as they did.

Kagome's train of thought had fallen down the same path as his own and her mood had sufficiently darkened. The reminder of elves made her body feel light and chipper. Her heartbeat and the forest's pulsed together in sync and her body practically sang with merriment, for it believed that this was _home_.

'_I hate elven cities.' _Kagome tried to get over the discomforting joy, fearing that it would consume her mind in an euphoria. "Let them attack us!" She supplied, "You can take them down." The joy continuously grew the closer they came to the city that lied within Mirkwood.

Kagome desperately wanted the feeling to go away, "Why avoid them when we have nothing to fear?!"

Sesshomaru's eyes were exasperated as he cast her a glance; the irony of the situation not lost on either of them. Their roles had been reversed on this day. "We will remain on the ground." His voice was stern and caused her to immediate deflate. "We are almost through." He added more gently, knowing Kagome was one of the only people able to tell the difference in his voice.

He also knew of her reservations toward places of elven make. It always seemed as though whenever they strayed too near an elven city during their journeys, that Kagome would reflexively gravitate closer only to high tale it in the opposite direction.

"I worry that I will not be capable of going through Sesshomaru," Her voice was small and quiet and her words confirmed to Sesshomaru that the pull of the forest was strong indeed for her to have outwardly spoken of it. "We are closer to one of those _places _than I have ever been before." Her voice began to quake and her eyes latched onto his, "I feel I must stay my feet, for they are becoming too eager to lead me somewhere that is not Dale."

"Have patience." Was all he said, his hand reaching out to gently hold her smaller one. Having become more in tune with the woman over the years, he knew his silence and even this simple action would calm her.

Kagome pushed back her fears, touched that he was trying to comfort her in his own odd way.

And as if a shotgun had fired, the spiders appeared.

They were giant and ugly, swarming from the trees as if they'd been there all along; Kagome let out a shrill scream and looked to Sesshomaru, panicked, "L-Look at those things!"

The look of pleasure he sent her as he let go of her hand was not encouraging in the least, "Hn."

Kagome regained her fearless nature as one got too close and with a scowl, unknowingly identical to her teacher, her whip snapped to life with an energetic hum. Green and Pink flashed through the air, moving in perfect synchronization against their enemies.

The spiders were easy prey to the well-practiced whips as demon and elf danced around on the path, the later of the two occasionally taking out her sword to kill a spider that got close enough.

After only a minute, her whip had disappeared completely and she began to experiment with her sword.

Spiders began to pile up and it didn't take long for Sesshomaru to kill the last one; kicking a large leg away from his stainless white pant leg with cold eyes.

"I hate spiders." Kagome's face was equally unsympathetic while she attempted to clean her sword in the grass, her lip curling slightly and eyebrows furrowing, "Where on earth did these things come from?"

"They smelled our blood and came to take a bite." Sesshomaru remarked, his voice almost mocking as they began down the path once more, "I had assumed you'd taken notice of them." The fact that she hadn't pressed down on both of them and they walked in silence for several moments.

Sesshomaru's eyes strayed to his student as he pondered the situation. Kagome's senses were sharper than his own when things of dark aura –as well as _elves_- were involved, and the aura of the spiders were dark with evil indeed.

The forest was weighing down on her senses more heavily than expected.

"Have you ever seen anything like them?" Kagome asked suddenly, her voice rushed in a thinly veiled attempt to distract his mind.

"Hn."

Kagome's lips twitched idly, _'Translation: No and this worries me. I haven't an idea what could be lurking in Mirkwood.' _

Six hundred years together caused her to become more in tune with his language –although he was thankfully learning to speak hers as well. There was a time when all he would say was 'Yes' 'No' and 'Hn'.

A faint twitch against her senses made her stop, her eyes darting to the right, "Elves." She whispered and her face turned back to Sesshomaru. "We are nearing their city. I sense ten are coming our way, fast." She added under her breath, this time her hand seeking out his.

Sesshomaru tugged her onward, "From this point forward, we will move on swift feet." He answered, rushing forward and their conjoined hands forcing her along.

They were so very close to the exit of the forest, the last thing either of them needed was to run into a group of elves.

They ran in silence for a few minutes, their speed enough to cover the distance in a fraction of the time it would have taken any normal elf to make it through the forest.

Kagome was now thankful that she had been trained to keep up with an extremely fast daiyokai.

She sensed the elves had come upon the spot where the spiders had been killed, stopping there to examine the massacre. _'Let us hope they were not friends.' _Kagome thought idly, now out of the forest and feeling her strong will return from where it had previously taken vacation to bask in the feeling of Mirkwood.

Now that it was back, she had no wish to confront the elves.

As they stopped outside the dreary forest, Kagome let out a long breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. The elves were retreating back to their home. "They've lost us." Her hand slipped out from Sesshomaru's, clenching into a fist at her side.

She knew what was to happen next.

Sesshomaru reached out and lightly shook her shoulder, "This is where we part ways."

"If you do not show up before the sun rises, I will return for you."

"Hn."

It was an unspoken order to do just the opposite of that, but Kagome was not one to follow orders.

* * *

"Whoever was in the forest is there no more." The king's heir, Legolas reported. "We found an entire nest of spiders killed; look at this."

Thranduil took the object his son was holding and examined it disinterestedly, "A spider's leg." He stated dryly.

"The cut is what is strange." His son clarified, his long blond hair shimmering as he leaned forward and rested his face near the cut off leg, "If you look closely, you'll see that something is causing it to erode."

Thranduil found this information curious and took a closer look. Now that he knew what he was supposed to be looking for, he saw it effortlessly.

Some kind of acid was eating away at the hair and exoskeleton, so slowly that some might mistake it for a trick of the light.

"Have you ever seen anything the like of it?" Legolas asked, looking up to meet his father's gaze and unknowingly repeating the words of another curious elf.

"No." The words troubled Thranduil, for there were few things he hadn't seen in his time, "But it is interesting."

* * *

"The city, Dale." Kagome's eyes were sad while she took in the carnage. The city that had once been both beautiful and peaceful was now a place of ruin and death. "The dragon was very cruel to this place."

She was quick to move through what had once been the entrance, her eyes taking in pictures of indescribable horror. She healed those whom she could as she moved throughout what had once been streets, dodging debris and dragon fire as she went.

She was thankful that not many had taken notice of her as of yet, while the ones that did simply found her odd –despite her ears being hidden- and left it at that. People were scattered throughout the once city, taking refuge on the ground or half buried in the place that they had once called home. Getting some of them out of the wreckage had been harder than she'd suspected, but Kagome was not one to give up easily.

And so she wandered about, looking desperately for a hospital where she was sure there would be even more victims. Hours passed and as she healed, the dread brewed in her stomach with each moment before finally she asked an injured man about it.

He gave her the strangest look through his tired pain and replied back, "The dragon has destroyed it, as he has destroyed everything." The unspoken question, _why_, was so brutally clear that Kagome felt it would be rude for her not to answer it.

"I'm a healer." She looked down at his leg, which had bled through the entire leg of his ripped pants and was still flowing freely onto the street.

The man's eyes became wide with a mixture of relief and tears, "…" Every healer in Dale had been killed when the hospital had fallen. The uninjured were doing their best to tend to the wounded, but they didn't know what they were doing. That was how he had been injured.

Kagome was quick to take the extremely large pack from her back and lay it down beside them, rummaging through quickly all the while eyeing his leg. Her hands deftly pulled out a dark shirt and handed it to him, ignoring his confused look.

She was hurried yet careful as she began to roll up his pant leg, not wanting to cut it of in fear of the night's cold. She hushed his cries and gently reassured him that everything would be okay.

When it was rolled up just past his knee, she got a look at his wound.

His calf was heavily bleeding and Kagome winced when she noticed that his bone was visible in some areas.

"Tripped down some stairs and fell on my sword." He hissed out painfully, catching her almost confused expression. "Can you do anything?" He added weakly.

Kagome ignored his question, "Stuff that shirt in your mouth, this is going to hurt."

He gave a short nod and his head rolled back to lean against the rubble behind him, following her order.

Kagome's hand glowed and she quickly pressed it against his leg, ignoring the thrash his leg and the tears that poured down his cheeks. His pain instantly numbed before fading away to a more fuzzy, tingling feeling as her power flowed into him. Skin returned and his blood almost seemed to backtrack to go back inside his veins. A feeling of unbridled ecstasy sank into the very marrow of his bones, chasing out the tiredness.

And then it was over.

He gazed at her with wonder and the shirt fell away. "How did you do that? Are you… a witch?"

Kagome shook her head and lightly laughed, "No." Her hand tucked her hair behind her ear, showing her elven heritage. "I am an Elven Healer." Her eyes twinkled with amusement when a look of awe came upon his face, "And I beg you, good sir, to spread the word that I am here." Her hand reached out and touched his cheek, "I know your aura now. I ask that you find all those that are injured but can be moved and bring them here. Find all those who cannot and think of the saddest, most painful things you can imagine." Standing up, she grasped his and pulled him to stand before her. "Be swift, friend, some here do not have much time left."

He needed no more incentive, running down the street and whispering to all uninjured, "There is a healer of great power here to help us. Spread word."

Meanwhile, Kagome continued down the street in the opposite direction, healing all whom she came upon.

* * *

Sesshomaru knew from the moment he approached the gate that things would go wrong.

The guards looked at him with fierce, angry eyes and raised hackles, but willed him to speak before his death.

"I request a meeting with your king." Sesshomaru's words were quiet, but held enough authority that they glanced between themselves. "I come with word from Gandalf the Grey."

Both guards were cautious, but seemed to believe that possible news from Gandalf was more important than their own grudges.

Smart elves.

One of the guards opened the door and slipped through to inform the King and receive an order, while the other watched him speculatively.

It was not long before the other guard came back and motioned for them to come inside, the entrance closing behind them.

Sesshomaru walked on with the guards for several minutes in silence before they were approached by two elves in a grand hall.

The crown of red leaves and berries situated over white blond hair told true the identity of their king. The blond elf standing at his side was young and strong, his eyes heated with an unknown agenda.

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed and he stopped several meters from the elven king, ignoring the guard's vicious promptings to bow before him.

King Thranduil's cold eyes swept over his own and the two locked.

"Why would Gandalf send one of darkness here, to a place of light?" The king mused, walking around Sesshomaru, as if examining him. "Or further, how does Gandalf keep a pet as brutal as your kind?"

Sesshomaru inwardly rolled his eyes, _'Elves.' _

Truly such annoying creatures.

"Hn." He spoke offhandedly, almost instantly berating himself, but even more annoyed when the elf didn't pick up on what he was putting down. _'I have grown too used to the company of the miko.' _

Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed even more, "I am not here for idle chit-chat, King of Mirkwood. I come on the request of Gandalf the Grey to ask that you help restore the city, Dale." He took the only unopened scroll and handed it to the king, who looked most reluctant to take it. "And to give you this."

The king did not seem to care for his words and did not spare a glance at the scroll, instead he walked over to a conveniently placed table and picked up a large black spider leg, "I suppose it was you that did this?"

"Hn."

King Thranduil rightfully took that as a yes, "What kind of poison is laced on your sword?" He handed the leg to Legolas and opened the scroll, his eyes running over it quickly as he awaited an answer.

Unknown to the elves, his questions were beginning to remind Sesshomaru, for the umpteenth time, why he found elves -no perhaps _people in general _so annoying. "Hn, I need not explain myself to the likes of you." His lip faintly curled, "I have come only to grant Gandalf's requests. Now that you have his message, I shall take my leave."

"The trees spoke of two." Legolas's voice piped up from behind him, although Sesshomaru took no heed of it and kept walking. "Where is your companion?"

"This Sesshomaru's ward is already inside Dale." He replied, recalling that there were certain things Gandalf had requested he do if the confrontation led to it, "She is a healer and seeks to help the wounded."

King Thranduil's eyes looked up from the scroll impassively, "Guards, take him to a cell."

The two elves grabbed his arms roughly and Sesshomaru fought off a sigh, forcing himself to comply with the last part of Gandalf's letter.

"_Do not harm the elves." _Even if it was at a personal cost to himself, he was not to fight the elves. More importantly, he knew Gandalf's alternative motive for this request.

'_Gandalf, this one does not give second chances.'_

* * *

_**i luv niki4444**_

I'M FINALLY DONE! X"DDD I rewrote this chapter so many times o_O

Wow that was such a huge response! :O I did not expect so many people to like it! THANK YOU FELLOW LOVERS OF LORD OF THE RINGS! I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS ONE AS TOO! I WORKED SUPER HARD ON IT!

xD So, clearly, I hope you like it. :"D I'll update soon!

_-Niki_


	3. Her Loyalty

**_Trapped Starlight _**

_Chapter 2: Her Loyalty_

* * *

The night had long since gone and the sun shone brightly against the tall trees of Mirkwood; yet Sesshomaru had yet to leave the city.

'_I didn't think he would actually remain inside.' _Kagome pondered idly, standing as a silent observer in the trees. She was just far enough from the entrance as to not be noticed.

She knew that Sesshomaru was still inside and was aware that, despite his orders, she would come. She also knew that she wouldn't be of much use to him in her current state.

Only a few hundred had survived the dragon's initial attack, but she had never healed so any at one time and it left her feeling weak and exhausted. It had certainly been no help that the dragon had returned sometime in the night. She had been forced to herd them all into a location that she deemed safe and cast a large barrier around them just in case he DID find them.

And then there was the run back to Mirkwood…

All in all she wasn't in any condition to be near the elven city and her senses were going haywire. With the weakening of her body, came the weakening of her mind. _'If it continues as such, I will go in without feeling the need to come out.' _

Now, staring at the entrance, she became assured of this thought as her mind screamed to run away and her body screamed to go in.

One of her hands quickly grasped a nearby tree branch like it was a lifeline and she eyed the guards speaking in elvish not far away as a way to distract herself. _'What are they saying?' _

Her heart pulsed and sang merrily; quietly urging her to learn that horrendously beautiful language.

Kagome let out a silent sigh. _'This is ridiculous.' _She knew that her heart brain, and mind were very much separate entities.

Those wonderful images of joyous days were only a plot by her brain to make her see things its way. Her heart, it seemed, had turned against her in favor of making these images all the more appealing.

Both wanted to live in an elven kingdom, with what they called her own 'people'. Her mind, however, simply wanted to coexist with Sesshomaru, who was a demon.

So they were very much at odds.

Much to her treacherous heart's delight, Kagome knew she would step inside the kingdom soon enough. _'I will not go back on my word…' _She fought back a gulp as one of the guards laughed and began to sing, _'…but perhaps some fresh air would do me well…' _

"I'm coming Sesshomaru."

'_Just hold on a little while longer.' _

* * *

Sesshomaru had never been one to explain himself to other beings; and he certainly wasn't one to beg for what he wanted.

But, with the impending 'doom' before him, he was becoming the slightest bit desperate.

If he was anyone else, he would have ran his fingers agitatedly through his hair and begun to break the cell door down, for his frustration was that great. Luckily –for both Gandalf AND the elves' sake- he wasn't anyone else.

'_The miko must not enter the city.' _Under no circumstances did he want her within the kingdom, but he had no way to prevent her from doing so while he remained here.

'_His reason for holding me is just a thinly veiled excuse.' _He thought, inwardly curling his lip. Sesshomaru's dread was steadily growing and he knew from experience that the king did not need one.

"Tell us about the poison and you will be set free." A voice urged him.

Sesshomaru didn't need to look to know it was the blond elf that spoke, but he did anyway, his eyes meeting those of intense grey that shone with the curiosity of a young child and yet the wisdom of an elder.

"You are young for an elf." He spoke blandly and the boy's eyes widened slightly. _'He is younger than I had imagined.' _His eyes were still naive and he had yet to lose his idolism for the king; something that showed clearly from his constant insists that the king would let him go if he was told about the poison.

"My age has no relevance toward the present subject." Legolas replied back, not the least bit offended by Sesshomaru's hinted rebuff, but more crisp in tone never-the-less.

His words hinted that perhaps he was trying to prove that he was older than Sesshomaru thought.

"You know nothing." Sesshomaru's voice remained indifferent, despite his growing annoyance. He had long since grown tired of the man-child's endless supply of questions and comments. The elf was truly almost as bad as the miko.

Legolas eyed Gandalf's messengers carefully, remaining oblivious to his father's true reason for holding him. "Do you desire to remain in a cage dark one?" He asked, his tone both mocking and inquisitive, "Is it your wish?"

Sesshomaru inwardly rolled his eyes, but his softer side –which had developed from years of traveling with two human females- appeared and he took pity on the boy, "Tell your lord that his mistake will be grave if morning comes and I am not released."

"Morning has come." Legolas responded back quietly, watching as the prisoner's head rose and his eyes snapped to meet his own once more.

A million options ran through Sesshomaru's mind. Going against Gandalf's requests, breaking out without harming anyone –if that was possible-, but he knew it was too late. "She's already here." He spoke unconsciously, so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't realize he'd said it aloud.

Nor did he see Legolas's eyes widen or hear the questions he curiously spoke.

In the end, he didn't even see the boy leave.

* * *

Kagome had been travelling through Mirkwood in an attempt to clear her mind when she felt it. An elven aura was pulsing in a clear call for help- which was going unanswered.

The dark auras it fought were large in number –with at least fifty, perhaps more- but the elf was dispatching the enemies quickly. As if they were not well-trained or IT was too well-trained. The dark aura's were disappearing one after the other at first, and then, it appeared to Kagome, that it began to slow down.

Kagome began to gravitate toward the helpless cry as, finally, the dark aura's seemed to overcome the elf. _'A dark one has not been killed for several minutes.' _She pondered and her pace increased.

It was then that she came upon then, silently, and removed her sword from its sheath. As she took in the scene, she was thankful that she had yet to be noticed.

The helpless one –elf, her mind supplied- was a young woman with long red hair and flushed cheeks, dressed in ripped and bloodied green clothing.

There were only about thirty of the ugly creatures left, but they had taken up a circle around the red-head and wold jab at her with spears when she attempted to move. The woman was panting with a look of pure outrage on her face. Despite her anger and frustration, there was a glint in her eyes that shone with fear.

She saw no way to victory.

Kagome's feet were soft against the ground as she made her way from behind a nearby tree. _'I can fix that.' _She lunged forward abruptly, beheading the nearest of the creatures. Her move caused a disturbance and the elf used the distraction to dart forward and viciously attack one side of the circle.

Despite her weakened state, she was clearly not one to give in to a battle so easily and despite their current position, Kagome admired her gumption.

With two sides of the circle, almost completely destroyed, Kagome and the woman stood back to back each trusting the other to watch over her back.

Even as the number of creatures began to form a circle of spears once again, Kagome's sword flashed in an attempt to break as many as possible without leaving her spot watching over the elven maiden.

"Leave me." The woman suddenly hissed quietly. "I am no use to you in this state."

Kagome politely ignored her, acting as though she hadn't spoken. "Duck." She whispered, her whip flashing into existence and the woman fell to the forest floor.

Kagome began spinning, slashing apart the bodies and weapons that came flying toward them.

And so, with this final display of power, the creatures were destroyed.

"What… What was that technique?" An edge of caution lined the woman's breathless voice. "What is your name?"

Kagome turned from her position to look down at the elven woman who couldn't find it within herself to stand once more. A blush dusted across her cheeks and Kagome fell to one knee beside her, rubbing the back of her neck with a sheepish smile, "I'm a healer." She replied, once more ignoring both of the elf's questions. "May I be of assistance?"

She was answered with a comical look from the normally regal elf.

Kagome's blush darkened. "Um…"

"What is your name?"

The awkward silence dispersed with this simple question and Kagome's eyes snapped to meet fierce pale green. "Kagome."

"Tauriel."

* * *

"Father."

King Thranduil looked down on him from his throne, "Legolas, what news do you bring that has you… so disheveled?"

Indeed, there was one hair sticking up slightly in the middle of his son's head. It was very hard to concentrate with it… waving around.

Legolas, as if sensing his disarray –or perhaps following his father's unrelenting eyes-, ran his fingers through his hair and reclaimed his perfect demeanor. "The prisoner has spoken."

In a swift movement, Thranduil stood, his eyes becoming intense, "And what did he say?"

"Not much." Legolas's eyebrow's wrinkled, "Only to warn you that he had to be released before morning."

"It is already past morning."

"Yes, he seemed to become disturbed upon learning that information. He said…" Legolas eyed his father, clearly troubled. "…he said that she was 'already here'."

Thranduil frowned, "Already here?" This bothered the king and he began to pace, "Go guard the prisoner." He would have to think more on the situation while his son made sure there were no attempts at escape.

It was then that the doors to his grand hall were thrown open with a crash and the entrance guard burst into the room.

The king raised a brow at the male questioningly.

"There's a woman here to see you. Gandalf sent her."

* * *

"Your healing abilities are something I haven't seen before." Tauriel remarked blatantly eyeing 'Kagome'.

Despite all her years –not that she was THAT old- she hadn't ever heard the name Kagome either.

Kagome smiled at her with a brightness that could only come from a child, "My abilities aren't rare in the least, I've just spent the majority of my life mastering them."

Tauriel was quick to doubt that the skill wasn't rare, but believed that Kagome had spent a fair amount of time mastering them. _'And the light she used before.' _The only thing similar to the whip was a weapon Bolrogs were said to use. A whip made of fire and shadow.

But Kagome's whip was made of light and purity.

"And I'm thankful that you did." Tauriel nodded slightly in thanks and Kagome's smile faltered, "You would have been fine Tauriel. I sense that you would not have perished if I had not come to help you."

"The entrance is closed." Tauriel observed, preferring to change the subject rather than allow her mind to think up images of what would have happened to her if Kagome hadn't come along when she did.

Kagome sent her a secretive smile and darted forward to greet the guards.

Tauriel shook her head and went after her, although with a little hesitation.

"… A-An a-a-audience with our k-king?" One guard stuttered, his eyes straying to the guard if only so he wouldn't have to meet hers.

Kagome curtsied and his eyes snapped up against their will, the other guard having long since given up on not staring. With their combined focus being the She-Elf, they wouldn't have taken notice of an entire army of giant spiders slipping through the entrance to their home.

"Yes. I am requesting an audience with King Thranduil." The smile on her face was almost amused, but they didn't focus on that.

It was the relaxing pink and white colored aura that circulated her, pulling and teasing their own auras that truly mattered.

From the moment she'd stepped onto the bridge, it had washed over them each in a warm blanket of comfort. It was the purest thing either had ever felt.

…And it turned them both into sputtering messes, despite the presence of their Captain not far off.

That and she was fair, even for an elf.

Getting himself together, the more sensible of the two coughed lightly to clear the knot from his throat, "W-Well… I'm not sure… if you don't have any business…"

"I come bearing a message from the Wizard, Gandalf." She chimed sweetly and with no further reason to hold her up, he was inside the building in a moment, running to get to his king.

Kagome, meanwhile, was flabbergasted by this reaction –she didn't understand why getting in was going so… smoothly.

She had expected to get attacked.

This reaction, combined with her growing like for Tauriel, made her question –it was probably her heart's doing- why she was so afraid of going inside. _'I should have suspected that not ALL elves are bad.' _She reasoned, _'There are always a few exceptions…' _

She was still completely unaware of _why _the guards were being so kind to her, remaining completely oblivious to her aura's mischievous nature.

That is until the remaining guard suddenly fell to his knees.

From her place beside Kagome, Tauriel rolled her eyes, "Get up."

After Kagome had healed her, they had come to the entrance –Kagome speaking with the cheerfulness of a halfling- and the guards had started to act like drunken young dwarves.

Bumbling and stuttering with red faces and out of character laughs.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, clearly concerned and she went to kneel at his side, only for Tauriel to nimbly grasp her arm and turn her away from the enraptured male.

"There is no healing him." Tauriel met her worried eyes with a small smile, for she too was beginning to feel the coming of a fast friendship. "Your aura is pure as newly fallen snow, he is unable to help himself from basking within it."

Kagome held her tongue before she could blandly reply 'You mean like a dwarf?', knowing that her saying that wouldn't go over well… and instead processed the fact. _'I would have never pictured elves and dwarves as the type to 'bask' in my aura.' _And yet, with her frequent encounters with dwarves during her lessons with Gandalf, she'd had to learn to control her aura because of their reaction.

'_Although this is a little extreme.' _Kagome thought, as the dwarves hadn't ever fallen like this elf did. She cast the elf a curious look, then closing her eyes, she focused on finding her center.

In a moment, her aura was pulled into herself and closed off to the world, leaving an empty feeling in all those who had been near enough to feel it.

But Kagome was even more cheerful.

She looked to Tauriel questioningly, "Is this better?"

"I think it's as good as it will get."

Kagome's answering smile was huge and she let out a light, sheepish laugh, "I'm sorry for the trouble!"

"T-The king will have you!"

The other guard appeared then, stumbling over his words despite her missing aura. His eyes were comically wide as he searched for it.

"Good, I would have hated to break in." Kagome declared, throwing her arm casually around Tauriel's shoulder –much to the She-Elf's confusion- and winking.

None around her could properly decide if she was teasing or being truthful.

Tauriel, meanwhile, was trying to decide how she felt about Kagome. She wasn't used to elves as… touchy and cheerful as the other female, but it wasn't the most unwelcome of changes. Her verdict declared that she enjoyed the familiarity that Kagome treated her with. It was almost like they were two sisters messing around and trying to keep each other out of trouble.

So, as they walked into the kingdom, she allowed Kagome to hold onto her arm.

She took amusement in the girl's reactions to simple things such as the size of the columns and the shape of the walls.

Unbeknownst to her, Kagome was feeling a mixture of the trilling excitement she was showing –and an immeasurable amount of fear. And as they walked, she spouted off all the cheerfulness she could muster in order to sponge away at that fear.

But as she looked around with panicked, excited eyes, she found that that was a more difficult thing to do than it was to tell herself.

One thousand years of being afraid of elves wouldn't go away just because she'd met one that she thought was amusing.

It was when they reached the throne room –the grand hall as Tauriel referred to it-, that Kagome was thankful that she had remained in fear. For if she had not, the king's cold, unfriendly gaze would have surely knocked it right back into her.

As it was, it simply served as a reminder of what elves REALLY were.

His beauty was cruel and unearthly, his light hair and eyes making her momentarily wonder if he was an angel. But the dark silver robes and berry crown reminded her that this was not an angel, but the king of a kind she considered to be much closer to the unholy demons of this world. His eyes were cold, not in the familiar masking way of Sesshomaru, but with the vindictiveness of Naraku, of Sauron.

And so, her hand slipped from Tauriel's arm to fall back to her side; the beauty of the singing caves and the heartbeat of the forest no longer having the same euphoric effect on her. _She had woken up_.

The King –Thranduil, she reminded herself- rose from his throne as if he hadn't expected her –when he quite obviously had- and made his way down to stand before her slowly.

Despite what she wanted, she knew that for once, it was better if she allowed him to speak before she. Her mouth tended to run and she didn't know how much she should watch her words as of yet.

He was still on the steps when he broke the silence, "I don't suppose Gandalf has sent you here to ask me to help the people of Dale?" His final step echoed as he reached the bottom, "I have received that message."

Kagome's hand disappeared inside her cloak, in an attempt to comfort herself, though this action did not go unnoticed to the king's eyes by any means and he took it in a different way. "Yes, well, Gandalf assumed that you would need more prompting."

Thranduil's eyes didn't stray from her form when she began to look around the giant cavern, "Tell Gandalf that the first was enough." The Wizard should have known that any more visits would only antagonize him, which was why he was skeptical. The Gandalf he knew would not have sent another to give him the same message.

A small smile appeared on Kagome's face as she stopped taking in the rock formations and their eyes clashed, "Speaking of the first messenger. Where is he?"

'_And so she reveals her true purpose.' _Thranduil began walking again when these words left her and a light sound escaped him, "The real reason you're here, I presume." His hand reached out and he picked up an item from the shadows of a column.

Kagome didn't answer his question, instead preferring to step forward and attempt to satisfy her curiosity and find out what was in his hand. He had his back to her, but if she squinted she could see just the faintest black…

She stepped closer to him, ignorant of her growing close proximity to a very dangerous Elf Lord.

"A spider leg." She made a face and recoiled, "Why do you have that?"

He spun, quick but graceful and he didn't appear at all surprised to find that she was mere feet away from him, if anything she was surprised when she had to look up to maintain eye contact. "My scouts found this yesterday." His head tilted and he took in her blank expression. "You seem to have seen this before."

"I hate spiders." She stated cautiously, her eyes wandering away to focus on a cave wall. "Where's the other messenger?"

"What type of poison is laced on his blade?" Thranduil easily sidestepped her question with his own, a hidden danger lying in his eyes. He wasn't going to give up on learning about the poison. On the rare occurrence that there was something he hadn't seen, he liked to further his arsenal of information on it.

Meanwhile, Kagome fought an inner battle.

She didn't know if Sesshomaru had been asked these questions and if he had, she had no way of knowing what he'd said. He might have even denied killing the spiders –however unlikely an action that would be, considering it WAS _Sesshomaru_. _'Think Kagome, what would Sesshomaru do faced with all these unknowns?' _

"Hn." _'Why? Why did I say that?' _She inwardly shook her head, shamed. _'I need a whole different tactic than Sesshomaru… some kind of lie…' _

Thranduil, however, found the answer –which he had heard only once before when he spoke to the other messenger- frustrating, "He spoke of a woman who was to come today. You are she?"

Kagome knew that whatever she told him, had to make sense in SOME way. She couldn't just make up a bunch of BS and expect him to take it in. He was smarter than that and he'd probably heard a ton of untruths during his long life. "Yes."

The war waged in her brain and it came to her then, an idea so ridiculous that she wondered if it would be possible to pass it off as the truth. One so horrifying that she wasn't sure if she'd live to tell the tale if Sesshomaru heard of it.

But it was better than rotting in a cell for the rest of her days.

"-ome?"

She snapped back to attention when she heard Tauriel calling her. "Huh?"

Tauriel's lips twitched faintly, "You were lost in thought?"

Kagome blushed, noticing that Thranduil stood near her with a pensive expression. "Um… I guess…"

Thranduil didn't like repeating himself, but he made an exception, "Why was he expecting you?"

Kagome's countenance changed to one of hesitation and Thranduil inwardly smiled victoriously. "Do you have Sesshomaru?" She asked quietly.

"He is here."

"And I don't hope to suspect that you will just release him?" Her eyes shone with genuine concern.

"I do not intend to release him."

She let out a sigh, "Fine then… Sesshomaru is in a very… delicate situation."

"Delicate situation?"

Kagome nodded, her face becoming more solemn with every passing moment, "He was once a great warrior in Rivendell, but he was cursed to carry a heavy darkness." Her brow furrowed, "I have to purify his heart every day so that he doesn't become something… troublesome." _'If Sesshomaru finds out I'm implying he's an elf, I'm so dead.' _

"I've never heard of this happening before." Thranduil said and he rolled the information around in his head.

"That's because it's never happened before. He was sent off to face a powerful demon, before it's death, it cursed him." In her eyes, Thranduil saw the makings of tears, "I have no skills other than my healing abilities. I could do _nothing._" Her voice broke and her fist clenched while she held back tears. _'Dying puppies, Dying puppies, Dying puppies.' _

Frac she wasn't a good actress.

Tauriel frowned, her eyebrows slightly rising when she heard that Kagome had 'no other skills' but she didn't want to believe that Kagome was lying to her king…

Maybe she meant that while her skills in combat were impressive, she could do nothing against the demon?

Either way, for now she was willing to watch the scene play out. She would report to King Thranduil Kagome's true power at a later time.

Meanwhile, Thranduil wondered about her story. There was a large chance she was lying to him, but if what the female was saying was actually true 'Sesshomaru' would be a great danger to his people if he wasn't purified –whatever that meant.

So, despite his better judgment, Thranduil knew that he had to chance the story being a farce. He wouldn't risk endangering his people on a whim.

"Come then, I'll show you to the dungeons." On the risk that she was lying, he would personally escort her, as to ensure that she didn't cause trouble.

He had no idea that he was setting himself up for failure.

For wherever Kagome Higurashi goes, trouble is sure to follow close at her heels.

* * *

**_i luv niki4444_**

Oh loooooooky! A flying update! You should probably catch that before it gets caught in a fence or something!

OHMYASDFGHJKL; THANK YOU GUYS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS, AND FAVORITES! :'D Wow guys, just thank you. :')

I really hope you liked this chapter!

P.S. Sorry it took a little longer to get here than expected. D: I got sick last Saturday (And I didn't feel better till Friday. :O That just wasn't fair) and even though I wrote the majority of it, I didn't have the heart to do the final revision till today. AND HERE IT IS! FINALLY! xD

_-Niki_


	4. Hitting the Fan

**Trapped Starlight **

_Chapter 3: Hitting the Fan_

It's been a while since I've had to do this, but I believe that it is necessary with this story...

_'thinking' _

"Speaking in Common Tongue"

_"Speaking in Elvish" _

**"Speaking in Japanese" **

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When they approached the cells, Kagome's anxiety tripled and she began to wonder just _how _she was going to pull off 'purifying' Sesshomaru.

Gandalf had taught her quite a few spells, although there was also a large number that she didn't have the powers to complete.

But there was only one she could think of that could work in this... situation.

Thranduil halted and Kagome stood silently in front of a cell until he gestured she go forward.

There was a guard there, dressed differently than the others and his hair was blond. She ignored the strange feeling that he was someone important and walked passed him, to the bars.

"Sesshomaru!"

He was leaning against the wall in his favorite position, one knee up and his elbow resting on it. When he heard her voice, his head snapped up and he looked her straight in the eye.

He took in her large smile and friendly eyes and cringed, _'She is… upset.' _"Miko, why have you come?"

Kagome blushed and ignored the looks sent her way, "I'm here to purify you. You didn't think I'd leave you to your curse did you?"

"Hn."

She cast Thranduil a questioning look, "Will you open his cell now? I have to be touching him to purify his curse."

The king waved to a guard indifferently and the door was unlocked. Kagome walked through quickly and with knelt by his side. "I have missed you."

Sesshomaru's reply was simple, "Hn."

She looked satisfied despite his wordless answer and gave him a quick hug, much to the surprise of a certain blond-haired 'guard'. "There's my Prince Charming." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes and muttering a quick, unfamiliar word **"Gomen-nasai." **After which a blue light seeped into the room from her hands.

The light was warm, but cold and gave off a homey feeling. She stayed with him as minutes passed and looked completely enraptured in her work, while Sesshomaru's eyes had closed and Thranduil watched with a strange fascination.

Finally, the glow stopped and her hands retreated from their place on Sesshomaru's chest. She turned her back on him and looked to the elves, "Well, that's done. Come, Sesshomaru. I'm sure Gandalf is worrying himself over our return."

She stood and began to make her way to the door; only for it to be shut in her face. She inwardly pouted, _'So close._' As it was, she managed to innocently blink up at Thranduil, "Eh? What's the meaning of this?"

"I desire to know about the poison." The king turned around and began to walk away, Tauriel and the blond elf going with him, "Until you are forthcoming with that information, you will both remain here."

Kagome let out a small sigh. Ohhhh the ignorance of these poor elves. They didn't know that Kagome Higurashi doesn't _do _remaining.

* * *

Hours passed and the guard came to report their two most recent prisoners speaking in an unknown language.

The King of the Woodland Realm was facing more stress than he had in hundreds of years because of those two messengers –no. It was because of Gandalf.

"Tauriel, you brought her here."

The She-Elf in question nodded tightly.

"Report."

Tauriel cleared her throat, ignoring how bitter the thought of speaking with him about Kagome was. Disclosing any information… almost made her feel like she was betraying the other elf. "I came upon a company of orcs nearing the edge of the forest. It is my belief their destination was the human city, Dale."

Legolas's eyes widened a fraction, "How many?"

"There were fifty… maybe more." She ignored his stunned expression in favor of continuing her story, "I knew I could not defeat all of them myself, so I began to make my way back. However, the sun was breaking through the trees and they were searching the trees for elves. I was spotted." She took a deep breath and met Legolas's steady gaze, "I fought them, but they made a circle around me and jabbed me with their spears. I had no way out and I thought I was done for…

"That is when she came. She caused a disruption in the circle that I was able to use it to my advantage. Together, we dropped their number, but they made an attempt to circle us again."

She turned to King Thranduil with eyes that clearly portrayed awe, despite the formal, stiff tone she used, "What happened next, I cannot rightly say. The technique she used was a deadly dance and the forest sang with her steps. She spun and they fell… it was unlike anything I have ever encountered in past ages. Her power is more pure than the brightest of snow and it stole their dark existences leaving only the light in its wake."

Thranduil would have been disbelieving had he not been so intrigued, "It stole their dark existences?"

"Yes. It was almost as if… it almost appeared to be eating away at their darkness after they had fallen."

The air seemed to grow frigid as Thranduil's eyes narrowed slightly, "Like an acid that sought to destroy their bodies?"

"Yes, my king."

"Then it was her, not the other, who uses poison."

"My king, it is as I said before." Tauriel interrupted and he stopped his pacing to turn back to her, more in surprise of her outburst than curiosity. "It is a pure technique; there is nothing _poisonous _about it."

"And what is this technique called?"

"Purifying."

He began to pace once more and a suspicion pulled at his nerves, "Is that not what she did to the other messenger?"

"Yes, but this was considerably different." Tauriel replied and a hint of nerves could be seen flashing through her eyes if any had been looking for it, "The power she used on him was blue and king, but his power was pink, beautiful… dangerous." She turned her eyes to the floor, "**She **is dangerous, my king, much more so than she would have us believe."

She spoke it as a small warning and she had only given him half of her reason for believing so, but it all she would tell him. She could not help but keep the rest of her opinion to herself.

'_She is not telling us the whole truth.'_

* * *

A day passed quickly.

After explaining what she had told the king -in Japanese of course- Kagome was mostly silent -as she didn't want to infuriate her friend any more than she already had-, either observing the formations on the other side of their cell door, or sleeping away the time.

Sesshomaru kept watch over her as he was able to sense her aura even with her hiding it and he could tell how exhausted she was.

It was on their third day within the cell that Kagome began to get more vocal, **"Sesshomaru." **She started, **"Where is Tensaiga?" **Her question was light and the goal was more to call attention to his missing sword than to ask where it was. Her aura had long since memorized the auras of Sesshomaru's swords and she knew _exactly _where it was.

She was more curious as to why the elves had not taken either Bakusaiga or Tokijin –which Totosai had fixed _reluctantly_- which remained proudly at his side.

"**It was taken from this Sesshomaru upon my imprisonment. They did not dare to touch Bakusaiga and I warned them against Tokijin." **He explained quietly, his voice remaining strong despite its' decrease in volume.

'_And they listened.' _So they did have some intelligence. Touching either Bakusaiga or Tokijin would have resulted in either death or possession.

Kagome ran a hand through her hair agitatedly, **"Why are we still here? Why did you not come back?" **

"**Gandalf requested that this Sesshomaru not harm the elves. He is wise and a good friend." **Sesshomaru responded, **"He has this Sesshomaru's respect so his request is being humored." **

Kagome frowned before a smile graced her face, **"He made no such request of me; I will handle the elves. Wait here until I return with Tensaiga." **

Thankfully, Thranduil had only taken her bow; meaning she still had her sword. She had told him that, should Sesshomaru's curse take over, only a weapon from her could stop him. The king was hesitant to believe her but he had yet to lose his willingness to cooperate with her.

"**The elves will gather here while you are gone to fetch it. Escape could become dangerous." **

Kagome scoffed and distaste shown through in her retorted words, **"I can handle a few **_**elves **_**Sesshomaru. We have battle far worse atrocities, in **_**legions**_**." **

"**Those days have long since passed miko. Be safe." **His eyes gleamed, **"Do not allow your reckless nature to control you." **

"**Reckless nature? Surely you jest!" **She trilled mockingly and winked mischievously, **"You must have me confused with your brother." **

"**Half-brother." **He corrected instinctively and Kagome reached over to mess with his hair, ignoring the death glare he sent her.

"**Right." **

"Quiet in there." The guard suddenly called, "Conspiring in your gibberish tongue will do you no good."

Kagome's lips twitched into a small frown, "Conspiring? I believe our conversation was more along the lines of… well I'm sure it would bore you."

The elf eyed them curiously, as was his nature. "What did you speak of?"

Kagome smiled at him then and the guard was eased into a false sense of security, "Pillows."

He blinked at her, "Pillows?"

Kagome nodded her head easily, "Yeah, I'd love a pillow right now." She reached around to rub the back of her neck, "I hadn't slept in days before this venture. My head is _killing _me." She cast him a pout and turned to look at Sesshomaru accusingly. "But he won't let me borrow his furry thing."

Against his better judgment, the guard replied, "That's unfortunate."

Her troubled expression was enough to make him feel sorry for her, "Yeah…" Her face suddenly lit up and she launched herself at the cell bars, surprising him and making him back up and grab the hilt of his sword. "Wait! Do you think that _you _could get me a pillow?!"

He choked, "Uh…" He was still only a few hundred years old and he hadn't experienced guard duty like this before. In fact, he had never been a guard before, not many traveled into their forest and even fewer were put in their cells.

So he had to wonder…

… Do guards give their prisoners pillows?

Whether they do or not was not really the question, he decided,_ 'The question is, do guards give Elven _**Females**_ pillows?' _He had never heard of an elf becoming a prisoner within their realm before. And certainly not a _She_-Elf!

"_Calanon, ignore her. Our king has ordered that I bring her to him." _

The guard briefly bowed, relieved by this interruption, and wordlessly handed him the keys.

And so, the blond stepped forward, ""Can I trust you not to attack?" He wondered aloud and Kagome took a step back from the cell door.

"Probably not." She replied with a rush and, ignoring the frown he sent her, continued, "But if you want to talk alone… you'll just have to chance it, right?"

"You're correct."

"Of course I am." She scoffed and folded her arms, clearly waiting for the cell door to open.

Disregarding her snarky attitude, he unlocked the cell door and the She-Elf darted passed with a surprising amount of speed.

She paused in her stride to look back to him teasingly, "Coming?"

Legolas thought that he heard a sigh from within the cell, but he overlooked it, telling himself he was hearing things, and relocked the door while the guard kept a close eye on the female prisoner.

He waved her forward and she followed him silently, arousing his curiosity. From what he had been told from Tauriel –when he had asked about the girl after her report to the king- she was a talkative She-Elf and was just as quick to speak as she was to initiate physical contact.

Maybe she was shy around the opposite gender?

While Legolas entertained this idea, Kagome was giving him quick, inquisitive looks. After spending no more than a couple of minutes with him, she was sure of one thing.

He was clearly related to the king.

She knew enough about elves to know that blond hair was by no means a common color, especially not among Mirkwood elves.

In her mind, she could not help but to compare him to the king, whom she assumed was his father.

He was tall, much taller than her, but not yet the height of the king. His beauty was not cruel as his father's was, instead it was a stern mask; it hid behind it something intriguing. His eyes were grey –bordering silver in their intensity- and held the curiosity of a young child and yet the wisdom of an elder.

He was unlike other elves she had met, he was… _odd_.

"You are different." Kagome suddenly chimed bluntly, her voice portraying amusement and no small amount of disbelief. She was convinced she wouldn't have been able to feel the same amount had she found a fawn living peacefully amongst a pack of wolves. He turned to look back at her, only to find that she now walked at his side. An eyebrow raised and he silently observed the small smile on her face.

"Different?" He finally inquired, "What do you mean by 'different'?"

She shrugged, "I just mean that you're different than the other elves I've seen here."

"How so?" He asked flatly.

"Your hair is blond."

Legolas blinked at her, clearly unsure of that answer.

Her eyes lit with mirth and she smirked at him, "What? Did you think I meant something else?"

"Usually, there is another meaning." He confessed, nodding lightly in her direction.

Rolling her eyes, she turned on her heel and began to walk backwards in front of him, "Like what?" The sincerity in her tone was uncommon for a question like that and it left his mind wondering.

"Often, my 'difference' is derived from my age." Legolas replied back, "I am young in years."

"But old in wisdom." Kagome muttered back lowly, unaware that he'd been able to hear her, "Is it because your eyes have yet to lose their warmth?"

He raised an eyebrow, "So you see it too."

"Of course, but that doesn't make you different." She offered him a strange look and inwardly crossed her fingers, "Blond hair is a lot more telling than twinkling eyes."

Hers was the last word on the subject and they both became lost in their thoughts. Or rather, Kagome became enthralled with staring at the cavern instead of him. She pranced around and looked at the glistening rock happily.

For her, it remained stunning despite her small journey through it earlier and even with days of staring at it from inside her cell.

It was majestic, beautiful and…

"This couldn't have been made naturally."

Her escort sent a nod in her direction, but otherwise didn't comment.

She huffed at him; staying silent.

And so their game began.

Kagome tried her best to entice a reaction from him and he ignored her, until finally, the human turned elf began to walk a tad faster than she had before. "You're rather stern for a guy with twinkling eyes." She piped up, "Usually, you lot are quick to speak and slow to stop." She paused briefly and glanced at him, not disappointed by his lack of reaction; she hadn't been expecting one and besides… she could wait. "Is this an elf thing?"

And like a light had been turned on, his attention was caught. "You speak as though you don't know, She-Elf."

"I don't. Not exactly, I mean." Her victorious grin hid behind a sweet smile when she was encouraged by a raised eyebrow, "I've met a few elves, but I was raised by Gandalf the Grey for the most part. My knowledge of elves is limited to the small books I have read." She added and her smile lessened.

"An elf raised by a _wizard_." Legolas replied back incredulously, drawn in by this prospect despite himself, "Where are your parents?"

"I'm a little too sober to be having that conversation." Kagome chided good-naturedly, in spite of the warning in her tone telling him to back off. "Perhaps, if you're lucky, I'll let you know at a later date." _'Which you won't be, because after today, we will never see each other again.' _

In response to her statement, his eyes sparked, "Or you could tell me now." He hinted, tip-toeing the line he instinctively knew he couldn't cross; he was unaware that, in the staring contest doing so brought on, they had taken a wrong turn.

"I could." She gave a pause as if she was considering before she crushed his blooming hope, "But I will not."

Her escort –the name of which she still did not know- briefly stopped in his walk –as her blunt rebuttal was somewhat new to him- and unconsciously vowed that before she left his home, he would find out. "… You are different as well. "

Her eyes widened and she jokingly raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what do you mean by 'different'?"

* * *

Tauriel and Thranduil waited patiently, but minutes passed by and there was no sign of Legolas or the prisoner.

Worry began to set in.

"How dangerous is she?" Thranduil asked sharply, not doubting his son's power, but unknowing of the prisoner's own.

Tauriel was drawn out of her own musings by his voice and answered, "Her skills were… greater than my own. She only fought once, but she killed the orcs easily. Mercilessly."

"How many were left?" He inquired thoughtfully, preparing to do the math in his head.

"35 perhaps 40." She looked at him wearily as his eyes seemed to become like razors, "I only took down a few before the surrounded me, after that I was… detained."

"And yet, you are here, uninjured." King Thranduil countered stiffly, "You're situation could not have been too dire; and certainly not as life threatening as you described in your report."

"She healed me." Tauriel said back, "Did she not already tell you she was a healer?"

Suspicion reared its ugly head and Thranduil turned from her to peer down his hall in search of his son. "Tauriel."

"Yes, my lord?"

"It **would **be wise for you to remember that she may be more of a threat than her companion. Do not think of her as one of your own." He paused and looked her dead in the eye, "That would **not **be wise."

"Forgive me for saying so, but it is hard not to my king." Tauriel replied quickly, an uncharacteristic outburst from an underling, "She is open and friendly- for the most part. And her aura is very relaxing. I have already begun to think of her as kin." She ignored the narrowed eyes directed her way and continued boldly, "It would be more _wise, _my lord, for you to keep Prince Legolas away, lest the same feelings befall him."

"Your words will be taken into consideration." The king replied back rigidly, causing her to cringe as he saw his son and the prisoner finally enter the far end of his hall. "However, I do not believe that my son will fall to meaningless words and small smiles. He will not be charmed by one such as her."

Tauriel inwardly snorted, _'That has yet to be determined.' _But she would not speak her thoughts aloud; she knew she had already been far too loose with her words.

"Father," Legolas called and stopped in front of them, the girl slightly behind him. "I am sorry for our tardiness."

"What was the cause?" Thranduil replied back coldly, eyeing the hand that had found its way into the crook of his son's arm.

"Tag." Kagome stated, some of her cheerfulness vanishing with the coming of a more frigid presence. "He insulted me, so we played a game of tag to make up from our fight."

"I chased you." Legolas replied back, his face looking oddly exasperated and he turned to his father, "She was trying to escape."

"Was not." She cast him an insulted look and stuck out her tongue for good measure, "I just wanted to play a _friendly _game of tag. It was your fault for taking it so seriously."

"Must you always argue?" Legolas muttered back tiredly.

"Yes, sir." She trilled much to Tauriel's amusement and delight; she silently rejoiced to her friend's growing comfort with the king and his caves. "If I agreed for simplicity's sake, I would have been hung by now."

"M-"

"Onto the subject at hand." Thranduil interrupted and both elves turned to look at him curiously, as if they'd forgotten he was there.

In truth, they had.

"Ah yes, executions! I'd prefer a swift sword over a new rope, if you don't mind." Kagome specified calmly, if not a little enthused and Tauriel's eyebrows nearly reached her hairline.

"Who said anything about an execution?" Legolas muttered lowly, looking to his father once more, "We are not executing her are we?"

"That is a decision that will be made in time. We are not-" Thranduil said indifferently, finding in himself –for the first time in 2000 years- the beginnings of a headache when Kagome's face fell, "As of yet."

And as he observed her reaction thereafter, he noticed she seemed almost disappointed.

'_How peculiar.' _

"Well, when you've decided, just give me a holler." She shrugged and turned around to go back down the hall.

"I have questions for you-" His control snapped and his tone became ice.

A cold wave of fear rushed up her spine and bit into the back of her neck, making her pause in her fright and her eyes glaze over with a memory before she snapped back to herself.

"-and you _will _answer."

'_I do believe that was an order to get serious.' _If only he knew that the only reason she was rambling was BECAUSE she was serious –seriously scared.

"Ask away." She replied indifferently and she fought against the tremble trying to creep into her treacherous voice.

Thranduil eyed her back wearily as he had not expected her to be so easily persuaded. "It was your power, not the other messenger's poison that continued to break down the spider leg long after its wounds had been dealt." He paused letting her absorb the knowledge that he knew. He hoped it would make her speak sooner.

"What?" Kagome's eyes were wide with real surprise and she blinked at him like he was an alien she'd found on her carpet, "You're trying to find out about… _my _power?"

"Tell me about your purifying ability."

She just continued to stare at him disbelievingly. "You want to know about _my powers?_"

This was either really good or _really _bad.

* * *

Until that day, it had always been Kagome Higurashi's opinion that when shit hits the fan you should stay and live out the consequences.

…Not run out of a throne room with highly trained guards and a princling –she'd derived that nickname from duckling- on your tail.

But on _this _day, Kagome was unsure of how to react to someone wanting to know about her powers… except to 'never disclose anything' as Gandalf had always told her.

Kagome looked back and, finding that they were far behind her, took a sharp turn to the right at the first chance she could.

A few minutes and turns using demonic speed later, Kagome had found her door. It was- surprisingly, only guarded by two elves.

"Hey." She barked, coming upon them, "There's a prisoner running around here somewhere, be on your guard."

The two nodded to her sharply, only to pause when they took in her clothing. To Kagome it wasn't strange, a plain white tunic she had bought at one of Man's marketplace's and a black belt around her waist to give it more form –she had found herself thankful it was still in her backpack- and a pair of black leggings –also found in her pack-. To her, the outfit was a sign of home.

For them, it was a sign that she did not belong in _their _home.

And before they could move, Kagome had pushed a few pressure points and they were down.

'_Thank you Sesshomaru. For teaching me how to make people sleep no matter how unnecessary _**you **_think it is.' _

In her frenzy, the door was slammed open and she looked around the contents for her prize. "There." Feeling sufficiently more happy, Kagome grabbed Tensaiga and her bow from where she'd spotted them atop a small pile of other weapons –probably from past prisoners.

Unfortunately, when she turned back to the door, _he _was there.

"Princling! I heard there's nice weather out today; care to accompany me for a stroll?" She chimed with a breathless smile.

He didn't smile back, "Stop this foolishness. Come back with me. Now." His hand was offered and his eyes were firm, but there was a hint of pleading.

Kagome was almost touched that she saw a small bit of concern laced in his eyes. This was a boy that she didn't even know the name of, someone who had no reason to care for her; she was a prisoner… who was supposed to be escaping.

"Sorry, but you know how it is. People to see, things to do." She ducked passed his arm in a flash and was behind him.

"KAGOME."

Allowing herself the smallest moment to wonder how he knew _her _name when she didn't know _his,_ she almost got herself caught.

But, his hand fell to where her arm should have been a fragment of a second too late and she found herself pressed against the wall staring at a clawed hand holding the other elf's wrist.

"Miko, you will move _faster _next time." Sesshomaru replied tightly, having escaped his cell and come to her aid without hurting an elf.

Kagome blinked at him uncomprehendingly for a moment before her eyes shifted to the unnamed princling and widened.

'_Running away now.'_

She promptly turned on her heel and fled.

* * *

In the days that followed their escape from the Woodland Realm, they traveled to the human city known as Lake-town.

Kagome busied herself with taking care of those whom had become sick during the venture across the lake or injured during Smaug's second attack.

She gave all the money and food she could spare to the poorest –and regretted not having brought more- and made niceties with the Master of Lake-town. But for all her working and worrying, she could not hide the truth from herself.

A part of her was left behind in the caves she spent time memorizing and the princling she did not know. There was a hollow loneliness that could not be destroyed or disguised.

And she got the feeling that she had lost something, something she longed to get back.

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_**i luv niki4444**_

Sorry it was slow in coming. :D A lot of things happened these past two weeks, but when it comes down to it, I just didn't make enough time for writing.

BUT HERE IT IS!

WOW. :O And I think it's the longest chapter I've written... :P Double yay.

**Things about the story that may be wrong... **

Laketown. o_o I've looked on several webpages and people either put Lake-town or Laketown. It's REALLY urking me because I don't know which one is right, but I'm going to put Lake-town for now and when I read the rest of The Hobbit, I'll go back and change it should it be wrong (Which it probably will be).

Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! It makes me happy (And inspired ;P) to know that you guys like it so much! :D I'll talk to you guys soon!

_-Niki_


	5. Shippo & Rin

**Trapped Starlight **

_Chapter 4: Shippo & Rin_

_'thinking'_

"Speaking in Common Tongue"

_"Speaking in Elvish"_

**"Speaking in Japanese"**

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_Dear Thranduil_

_I've lived a long time, friend. _

_When I was young, the leaves would change color and I would become enraptured in their glow. _

_But years passed and I forgot my curiosity over their changing color and I moved on to see things that I had not yet witnessed. And again, time went one until I had seen everything. I had seen every type of person; I could predict everything they would do. My life became dreadfully boring. _

_Yes, I'm afraid it is not every day one as old as I will see something new. And it is even rarer that I see something new that I regret seeing. _

_I have now, friend. _

_I have seen an elven woman so terrified of her own kind that she will not go one hundred leagues in the direction of elven ground. _

_It is remarkable to witness the way she will take small steps to the side when she travel, until she has turned us in a different direction from that which we had begun. _

_But it is also sad, friend, very sad. _

_Perhaps, had I not grown to care for her as I do, it would not be so hard to witness, but I do yearn for her to live amongst her own kind. _

_And that is why I will beg of you this favor; lock her away inside your cells. _

_A male will be the one who gives you this letter; he is her partner and protector. He will not fight you should you do as I ask. _

_She will not leave him in Mirkwood alone, even should he order her to stay away, she is the kind of friend who will fight passed her fear for his safety. _

_When she comes, keep her there for as long as you can. _

_Perhaps then, she will get over her fears. _

_Perhaps then… she will see her children again. _

_-The Grey_

* * *

Kagome wasn't sure how Sesshomaru had gotten the scroll back from Thranduil, but she was glad he had.

It confirmed Sesshomaru's suspicion that the whole 'poison' thing had just been an on the fly excuse created for Gandalf's sake –which in turn made Sesshomaru's ego inflate.

But while Sesshomaru was strutting his stuff –not that he would call it that- Kagome was sinking into her chair and praying to every kami she could think of to let it swallow her up.

It was on the same day that she came to Middle Earth that she had separated with her son, her daughter, and Sesshomaru.

A first, Sesshomaru came with the kids to check up on her training every few days. But as time went on, the lengths between their visits increased. Days became weeks, weeks became months, months became a year.

It was 155 years, three months, 17 days, and eight minutes into her life in Middle Earth –and not a minute more- when Sesshomaru told her that her children had found a home in Rivendell, adopted as grandchildren of Lord Elrond, and were patiently awaiting her arrival.

And she tried to arrive.

Many times, she had tried to go near the city. She had forced her wanting feet to move until her heard could no longer continue and she collapsed into a sobbing, screaming heap on the ground.

It happened every year, to be precise.

And every time, she would end up in the arms of her children, who had always come to stand by her and support her.

By going through Mirkwood, she had gone closer to an elven realm than she had ever managed to before, but she had convinced herself that she had to for the sake of all those people in Dale. All those people being killed by a horrible dragon…

By going to help Sesshomaru, she had _entered _an elven realm, but only because she had convinced herself that Sesshomaru did not remain within of his own free will. Only because she had to protect him from being tortured or experimented on.

But now, she had another choice to make.

Going near was one thing… going inside was one thing.

Could she… could she _live _in Rivendell?

A wave of anxiety rushed through her just thinking about it, but at the same time, it made her excited. The hollow feeling that had remained ever since her time in the Woodland Realm left for a fleeting moment at the thought of living with her children again.

And it was that excitement that told her what she already knew; it was time for her to put the dojo and her small cabin behind her and go somewhere with more… family.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Today was the day.

Gandalf was fussing over her like a mother on her daughter's wedding day, making sure she had all her herbs and arrows –which she'd counted all 300 of, _3 times _at his insistence- and overall coddling her.

Sesshomaru, to his credit, stayed mostly unscathed by the old man because Gandalf was confident that Sesshomaru would never forget something as important as _one friggin arrow _–"because that last arrow could save your life Kagome" or herb.

And so, with everything packed, they waited a fair distance away from their house -Gandalf wanted it to be a surprise- for their guests to arrive.

And they did, as the sun rose behind her, Kagome looked at her children for the first time knowing that she wouldn't have to give them up when they went back to Rivendell.

Her son, Shippo, had grown to be taller than her. He was lithe in body and his red hair fell to his knees in a high ponytail. The moment he saw her, his emerald eyes lit up like stars and he was _there _hugging her tightly. "Mama." He whispered, "I missed you."

"I missed you too kit." She replied back, running her fingers through his hair affectionately.

As Shippo took a step back to smile at her, she heard a squeal and was wrapped tightly in another, less muscular pair of pale arms.

And so, she turned and looked at her daughter.

Rin was as petite as ever and her big brown eyes spoke of forgiveness that Kagome knew she didn't deserve. She was an elf, but she was still _Rin_.

"Dad! Mom! You'll never guess what the twins were doing _this _time!" She gushed, one arm refusing to let go of Kagome's neck while the other one reached as far as she could to jerk Sesshomaru closer.

"Um…"

"They were messing with Celebrain's _gardens_, Ma." Shippo chimed, "Her _gardens_."

"There was hell to pay." Rin added, giving her the This-is-serious-stuff-mom-pay-attention look.

"Of course there was." Kagome ruffled her hair with a smile, "You don't mess with a lady's garden."

And so the day went on, with Shippo and Rin trying to cram in every story from the past year so that their parents wouldn't feel left out of their lives – for they knew how guilty it made their mother feel to not be able to join them in Rivendell.

They stayed awake through the night, laughing and talking, until finally the sun rose again, and their spirits became damp.

Elrond expected them back in 3 days' time and that meant that they had to head out right away.

"..."

Casting worried looks at each other, Shippo and Rin were unsure of how to tell their parents goodbye.

"…"

Kagome cleared her throat, seeing the looks and gave one of her own to Gandalf. "Well, why don't we try our hand at getting me to Rivendell?" She smiled at their cheerfully –much to their surprise-, "I'd love to meet everyone."

It was then that both children, now adults, realized that they were on the very edge of where their mother had reached during her last attempt to go to Rivendell.

"H-How are you acting so normal?!" Shippo was at her side at an instant, holding her should she begin to collapse. "Here sit down…"

Kagome swatted at him, rolling her eyes, "Oh please, I'm fine kit."

"Mom! Gandalf get her some water."

"She's delirious!"

Rin turned Kagome's face from side to side before looking her directly in the eyes. "Who am I? Shippo or Rin?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow and replied sarcastically, "Shippo."

"She's going to die!" Shippo cried dramatically, having not caught the sarcasm, and grabbed a shaking Gandalf –from barely concealed laughter- by the shoulders, "Can you save her?"

"Both of you, calm down." Sesshomaru suddenly said, getting the attention of both panic stricken 'teenagers'. "Your mother has gotten over her fear of all things elvish." Seeing Gandalf glare at him, he added dryly, "Surprise."

Rin stopped trying to diagnose her mother's disease in order to stare at her hopefully, "Is that true?"

Seeing all eyes turn to her, Kagome blushed, "Well… I wasn't scared of all things elvish… just some things…"

"So… you can come home? You can come home with us!" Shippo interrupted her ramblings to appear before her and grab her hands.

Staring at the two hopeful faces in front of her, Kagome smiled. "Yeah, I'm coming home."

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_**i luv niki4444**_

I don't know why, but I keep seeing Gandalf in a leather jacket and dark sunglasses saying "Call me "The Grey" o_O"

Anyway, Kagome has gotten over her fear so she can finally get back with her family where she belongs! :333

In the next chapter, Book 1 of Lord of the Rings starts! YESS I can't wait to start writing it. xD

_-Niki_


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